Mineta grew up in San Jose's Japantown, attended public school and was interned in the Japanese American Internment Camps during WWII. He received his B.S. in business administration, served in the U.S. Army and went on to become a San Jose councilman, president of the San Jose Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and mayor of San Jose.
On November 5, 1974 Mineta was elected as the representative for Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties and was reelected to each succeeding Congress. During his 21 years in office he secured money for Santa Clara Valley's transportation system and helped to create the Congressional Asian Pacific Caucus and Research Group which bought attention Asian American Issues. One of his biggest achievements, however, was obtaining a governmental apology and a law awarding $20,000 in redress to surviving Japanese Americans that were interned during WWII.
He retired to accept a vice presidency at Lockheed Martin Corp. on October 10, 1995. Throughout his years in Congress he was known for his strength in Washington and his resolve in doing his best for the people he represented.